Author and Editor

I Believe The Answer Is “Self-Publishing,” Monty

As I stated in an earlier post, I have—somewhat unexpectedly—a novel on my hands. It’s pretty exciting. And, as I also mentioned in that post, I have to figure out what I’m going to do with it.

Well, I’ve decided.

After much thought and consideration, I’ve decided to go ahead and self-publish.

It’s kind of a big deal. I mean, after six years in the academic system and being involuntary inundated with the various elitist ideals of the literarati within (don’t try to pretend it doesn’t exist), the decision comes with some stress. Upon really having to think about this, I came to realize that I had been conditioned to think of self-publishing as this terrible thing. And maybe, not so very long ago, it was. There’s no quality control! some cry. Anyone can do it! others lament. I have said those things myself. And it’s not like these concerns aren’t still concerns. They are. But the industry is changing, and I know that if we don’t change with it, some of us are going to have a very sad time.

The other concern, obviously, is prestige. There’s no prestige in self-publishing. Meaning, none of the cool kids will justify and validate your work. Universe forbid you validate yourself, because the Universe knows, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.

Except, I’ve come to realize…I do know what I’m talking about. I’ve gotten myself into a tremendous amount of student debt to know what I’m talking about. And I’ve had enough professional experience to know what I’m talking about. This might have been the real clincher in my decision to self-publish. How many writing graduates are out there with a publishing concentration? Probably quite a few, me included. You have two paths, I think, as a writer with a degree in, well, writing. You can teach, or you can go to work for the publishing industry. Writing, as everyone knows, really just turns into the hobby. That thing you do on the side, heaping hope upon hope that some kind soul within the industry will validate you.

I thought about that, and then I thought, if I was a plumber—I mean, if that’s how I earned my living—would I pay someone else to come fix my pipes? Somehow, I just don’t think I would. So, if I’m trained to edit and publish, why on earth would I pay someone else to do it for me? Except the writing/publishing situation is even more ridiculous in that, imagine you are a plumber and you’ve got some leaky pipes at home. Now, imagine you’re showing your leaky pipes to everyone in town hoping some other professional plumber will take a liking to them and fix them for you. If no one likes your pipes (for any of a thousand arbitrary reasons), tough turds for you, my friend. So, you’re left with this choice: don’t fix your pipes, or fix them your own damn self. Or, better yet: skip the whole part about asking another plumber to help you and just go straight to fixing your own pipes.

But then, who’s going to tell you whether or not your book is good enough to publish? you ask. Totally valid question, because there’s a lot of crap out there (no, really, it’s true). Answer: I am.

I know, I know…how incredibly big-headed of me. Oh, la-tee-da, look at her with her big, fat head. Well, you know what…I’m okay saying that, dangit, this book is good. We all have things we’ve written that are crap; we’ve all written things we can be proud of. I’ve decided that this is something I can put out there, have people read it, and be proud of it. It also helps that I’ve been on the other side of the slush pile.

And besides, I’m not so stupid as to write in a vacuum. I have readers who aren’t afraid to tell me that something’s not working, or that something just downright sucks. Smart, well-read people with good tastes and instincts that I trust. Boy, doesn’t that help? I’m also smart enough to, say, hire a designer and that sort of thing. Some things I can do myself. Others I can recognize that I can’t. My head isn’t so big that I don’t recognize that I can’t do everything and therefore must farm out that work. This, I like to call: I Am Not Stupid.

Don’t get me wrong, by the way. I love publishers. I do. Particularly the small, fiery ones. Not everyone who writes also knows how to publish. And I might become one of the other kinds of writers who, despite knowing how to publish, simply don’t have the time to, because at this stage in their careers, they’re too busy writing. Those folks certainly need publishers, and it sure sounds heavenly to be in that position. Sorry, don’t have time to deal with that stuff…I’m writing. Absolutely, publishers and presses are totally necessary. Just not for me, right now, at this time.

My final reason for choosing to self-publish—and this is the most personal one—is that, at this point in my life, I am more comfortable and probably function best working from the outside. The inside, in almost every circumstance, feels like eels under my skin. I can’t say why; it just does. And everyone knows I’m not supposed to be there, me most of all. I’m okay with this. Experience tells me that this is not the instance to try the inside route one more time. Better do this the way I know how so I can do it right.

Monday, I’ll tell you a little bit about what it is that I have written. I think, maybe, you’ll like it. I hope you will. Because I do.

Excellent post, and excellent reasoning. Hopefully the climate is less hostile now than it was a few years ago. (Deep down I know it probably isn’t.) My treatise back when I self-published was that READERS–not agents–legitimized writers. And I’ll stand by that to this day.

Take a look at JA Konrath’s blog, if you haven’t. He provides a lot of great ammunition for self publishing writers to use against their enemies.

And take a look at Guy Kawasaki’s APE. I wish I had this book back in 2011. It’s rare that i recommend a book, but I think this is one of the most concise, well-executed things I’d read about ‘artisanal’ publishing. Definitely relevant and utilitarian.